Facing arrangement for walls



1962 E. BUCHMEIER 3,016,998

FAC ING ARRANGEMENT FOR WALLS Filed Feb. 18, 1959 United States Patent 3,016,998 FACING ARRANGEMENT FOR WALLS Eduard Buchmeier, Edingeu (Neckar), Germany, assignor to Grunzweig & Hartmann A.-G., Ludwigshafen (Rhine), Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Feb. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 794,167 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 24, 1958 Claims. (Cl. 189-85) The invention relates to a facing arrangement for walls, and more particularly to a facing arrangement for walls covered with porous panels, such as acoustical panels which require protection from mechanical damage and are desired to be hidden from view because of their frequent undesirable appearance.

The primary object of the invention is to provide such a facing arrangement which is quickly and easily mounted.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a facing arrangement which can be assembled from stock material, for walls of any size, without waste of facing material.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a facing arrangement which is suitable for use under conditions of high humidity in the room enclosed by the wall to which the facing arrangement of the invention is applied.

With these and other objects in view, the facing arrangement of the invention provides a plurality of elongated metal facing strips of arcuate transverse cross section, spacedly arranged side 'by side. The facing strips are preferably of uniform and identical width which may be of the order of two inches. They are secured to each other and to the wall which they are intended to protect and to cover by a plurality of spacedly juxtaposed support members extending at an angle across the longitudinal direction of the facing strips. Use is made of bracket elements by which the facing strips are secured to the support members and which are preferably integral with the support members.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a ceiling wall equipped with a facing arrangement embodying features of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 2 taken in the plane of the line A-B of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown the lower surface 1 of a ceiling wall. Metal pins 2 are driven into the wall. Each pin attaches the base portion of a clip 3 of approximate T-shape to the wall 1. The two flange-like portions of the cross bar of the crosssectional T form retaining members 4 for the support of panels of sound-absorbing material 6 in the pockets formed between the retaining members 4 and the wall 1, hereinafter referred to as acoustical panels. The ends 5 of the retaining members 4 are bent inwardly toward each other at an acute angle so as to form a channel for holding an elongated, transversely curved supporting strip 7 of resilient metallic material. Although the strip 7 is quite thin relative to its width, its arcuate transverse cross section gives it substantial stiffness at relatively low weight. While only a single pin 2 and clip 3 have been shown, it will be understood that a plurality of such pins and clips are provided along the length of a strip.

At regular intervals, the supporting strips 7 are provided with bracket elements 8 projecting from the longitudinal center line of the convex face of the strips 7. These bracket elements are either secured to the strips 7, for instance, by spot Welding, or integral therewith. In the latter case, I punch, for example, triangular portions "ice Where the facing strips 9 are arranged under a ceiling, I

it is usually preferred to make them of light metal, such as aluminum, to reduce their weight. It will be understood, though, that the invention is not limited to any particular metal. Depending on the conditions under which the facing strips of the invention are to be employed, they may be provided with decorative and protective finishes to render them more attractive or to increase their resistance against the corrosive influence of the ambient atmosphere.

The bracket elements 8 are arranged so that the facing strips 9 extend side by side in spaced relationship. If the bracket elements constitute separate parts to be mounted on the supporting strips 7, two adjacent elements of two juxtaposed rows of bracket elements may be combined into a single structural unit having a central portion mounted on the supporting strip 7 and two terminal portions at opposite ends extending out of the plane of the supporting strip 7 for retaining the longitudinal edges of a facing strip 9.

Transversely curved strip material of the type constituting the supporting strips 7 and facing strips 9 may readily be coiled in continuous lengths. The facing arrangement of the invention may thus be assembled on the spot from such continuous coiled strip material which is readily cut to size by means of port-able tools. No material is wasted.

The supporting and facing strips may be: made from plastics as well.

To assemble a facing arrangement of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, suitably spaced clips 2 are fastened to the wall to be faced. Supporting strips 7 are cut to length and set into the clips, and cut lengths of facing strips 9 are inserted between paired bracket elements 8. Because of the resilient nature of the strip material, it may be possible to twist it into place. If the strip material is too stiif for such a method of assembly, the strips are longitudinally slid into proper position. In either case, the assembly proceeds easily and with great speed. A Wall pattern of alternate slat-like strips and interstices is obtained which provides mechanical protection to the underlying wall elements and is of pleasing appearance.

An assembly operation as described hereinbefore can be performed by unskilled personnel with great efficiency. Since the strip material may be selected from many metals and finishes, the arrangement is adaptable to a wide variety of environmental conditions and decorative purposes. It is particularly suitable for walls exposed to high humidity.

While the facing arrangement of the invention has particular utility when employed on ceilings and other walls covered with a porous covering, such as acoustical panels, and while a nembodiment illustrating such an application has been specifically described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the facing arrangement disclosed may be employed otherwise and may be modified and its structure altered without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ceiling wall arrangement, comprising, in combination, a substantially horizontal ceiling wall; a plurality of generally channel shaped clip members on the underside of the wall, said clip members each having a web portion secured to said wall, two flange portions spacedly extending downward from said web portion and lateral extension portions horizontally extending from respective flange portions in opposite directions, each web portion and the corresponding extension portion defining with said ceiling wall a lateral pocket; a panel member of sound absorbing material retained by its own weight in each of said pockets, said panel member having an edge portion resting on corresponding extension portions of at least two of said clip members; fastening means on each of said extension portions; an elongated supporting member longitudinally extending between said two clip members and secured thereto by the respective fastening means on the extension portions thereof; a plurality of longitudinally spaced attaching means on said supporting member; and a plurality of elongated resilient facing strips of arcuate cross section attached to said supporting member in transversely spaced relationship by respective ones of said attaching means.

2. A ceiling wall arrangement as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thickness of said panel member is smaller than the height of said pocket between said extension portion and said ceiling wall, and said panel member is spaced from said ceiling wall.

3. A ceiling wall arrangement as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fastening means includes a strip member having an edge secured to the respective extension portion, and extending obliquely downward from said edge to define therewith a laterally open channel, the open sides of the channels defined by the fastening means on the two extension portions of each clip facing each other, said supporting member being of resilient strip material having an arcuate cross section, the lateral edges of said supporting member engaging said channels of said fastening means.

4. A ceiling wall arrangement as set forth in claim 1, wherein said attaching means each include paired bracket elements, each of said bracket elements having a portion secured to said attaching means and defining therewith a laterally open channel, the open sides of the two channels defined by said paired elements facing each other and slidably engaging portions of one of said facing strips.

5. A ceiling wall arrangement as set forth in claim 1, wherein said facing strips are attached to said supporting member with the convex face of said facing strips facing away from said ceiling wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,864,130 Gibian June 21, 1932 1,995,514 Martin Mar. 26, 1935 2,841,255 Kemp July 1, 1958 2,842,811 Weeks July 15, 1958 

